1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to sectional doors and, more particularly to a novel hinge shield apparatus and method for shielding the gap between adjacent door sections of a sectional door to preclude the inadvertent placement of fingers into the gap, the gap being formed as the door sections sequentially traverse the curved track between the open and the closed positions.
2. The Prior Art
Sectional doors, also commonly referred to as overhead garage doors or, simply, overhead doors, are well known throughout the world. These particular doors are designated by these names by reason of their design/operation as well as their usage. In particular, sectional doors are designed to provide closure for a large opening such as the ingress/egress to an automotive garage. In order to accommodate closure of such a large opening, the sectional door is assembled from a plurality of door sections. These door sections have a length which spans the opening and are hingedly joined edge to edge to create the door, hence the name, sectional door. The hinged relationship between adjacent sections allows the sectional door to traverse a curved track between the vertical, closed position to the overhead, open position, hence the alternate name, overhead door. The sectional door is moved between the vertical, closed orientation and the overhead, open configuration with the orientation thereof being controlled by the supportive tracks. Sectional doors are quite heavy so that various systems have been devised to not only compensate for this weight but to move the sectional door along its supportive tracks between the open and closed positions. Customarily, coil springs under tension provide the necessary weight compensatory force while an electric motor provides the motive force.
A planar overall surface to the sectional door is obtained by having the abutting edges of the door sections configured with an interlocking tongue and groove relationship. The tongue portion is located on the upper edge of the lower door section while the groove portion is located on the abutting, lower edge of the upper door section. This particular orientation of the tongue and groove relationship is used throughout the sectional door industry in order not only to provide a more uniform or planar appearance to the closed sectional door but also to reduce the amount of water that would otherwise collect in the groove portion if the tongue and groove relationship were reversed. As it is, a significant amount of water from precipitation, adjacent sprinklers, and the like, collects in the space between the adjacent door sections so that when the sectional door is raised this water drips inside the garage.
As the sectional door moves between the two positions, open and closed, each door section sequentially traverses the curved track between these two positions. During this traverse a relatively large gap is created between each succeeding section as each section changes direction from the vertical to the horizontal orientation and vice versa. It is during the transition from the upper, horizontal, open position to the lower, vertical, closed position that this gap becomes significant in that it gapes open significantly as the lower door section turns to the vertical orientation while the next succeeding door section continues its transition from the horizontal to the vertical orientation. This gap results from the fact that the sectional door is relatively thick and the hinge line between adjacent door sections is mounted on the inner face of the sectional door so that the change in orientation for each planar, door section from the horizontal to the vertical will create a gap between it and the following door section. As can be seen, this gap is relatively large but rapidly disappears as the two door sections assume the vertical orientation. The relatively wide spacing of this gap coupled with its relatively rapid rate of closure has resulted in serious injury to persons who either deliberately or inadvertently place their fingers in the closing gap. Deliberate placement of fingers occurs when the person attempts to hasten the closure of the door while inadvertent placement occurs when the person simply is not paying attention. In both instances the results can be quite serious including amputation of the affected fingertips.
Interiorly a gap is also created by the fact that the hinge line between adjacent door sections is spaced outwardly from the interior surface of the sectional door. This outward spacing creates an interior gap that can also represent a hazard to the homeowner. In one particular instance, a homeowner was in the process of closing a sectional door that had broken one of its support springs. A power failure had also rendered the lift motor inoperative. When he released the sectional door from the lift motor to move the door toward closure, the first door section under the force of gravity rapidly pulled the rest of the door down. The homeowner was inside the garage and instinctively reached out to retard the fall of the sectional door and inadvertently inserted three fingers of one hand into the gap between two adjacent door sections. The rapidly closing sectional door imposed an excruciating pain on the trapped fingers such that the person jerked his hand free. Unfortunately, the powerful crushing action by the closing gap coupled with the forceful jerk of the hand resulted in the complete severance of one portion of one finger and the tearing of a substantial portion of the flesh from the other two fingers.
Even though tragedies of a similar nature have occurred all too frequently there are no known systems that effectively shield the gaps in a sectional door as it is being moved downwardly to the closed position. One company has created a modified edge system for its sectional doors by changing the abutting edges of the door sections from a traverse tongue and groove relationship to a slanted edge relationship. This feature removes the ninety degree corner and replaces it with a slanted surface so that grasping the upper edge of the downwardly moving door section is not feasible. Further, the bottom edge of the following door section is designed to push away any fingers that may have been placed therein. However, such a sectional door has a distinct disadvantage in that when it is oriented vertically in the closed position each door section rests upon the next section below. The heavy weight of the sectional door and the angled or slanted surface between adjacent door sections forces the door sections out of their planar alignment rendering a somewhat shiplap-type appearance to the sectional door.
In view of the foregoing it would be a significant advancement in the art to provide a shield apparatus and method for shielding the gap between door sections particularly during movement of the sectional door to its closed position. It would be an even further advancement in the art to provide a shield apparatus that can be protectively shipped in releasable attachment to a lower edge of an upper door section and then securely mounted to the upper edge of a lower door section. Another advancement in the art would be to provide a shield apparatus that also prevents water leakage inside the garage as the sectional door is raised to its open position. It would also be an advancement in the art to provide a shield/water channel apparatus that retains at least a portion of the tongue and groove relationship between adjacent door sections for alignment purposes. Such a novel shield apparatus and method for shielding the gap between door sections of a sectional door are disclosed and claimed herein.